This week, cosmic energy + watercolor mischief combine as we celebrate some planetary happenings going on! August 2015 is a lively month for astronomical events. Coming up next week, on August 12th and 13th, we will experience the Perseids Meteor Shower (check out this article by the Los Angeles Times to find out the best places to observe the shower), when we will be able to observe up to 60 meteors per hour! Up next, on the 14th, the sky blackens with a New Moon, and last but certainly not least, we blast into a Supermoon on the 29th! To honor the show our galaxy is about to put on for us, we decided to round up a few of our celestial watercolor greeting cards. See below:

First row: Night Skyline, Cosmos “You Are Everything”
Second Row: Coyote Couple, Robot Space Girl

Not to be outdone by the galactic happenings, Masha brought her own star power to the table. Check out this fabulous Stargazer headband she made, inspired by silent film starlets–coincidentally, just in time for the meteors! Two pavé crystal stars above the temples with a deco star adorning the forehead:

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It’s here and better looking than ever! If you haven’t grabbed our 2016 watercolor wall calendar yet–whatcha waiting for??

Available at retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods and Amazon, our calendar is bursting anew with bright colors, whimsical characters and enough “watercolor mischief” to get you from January to December. Published by Rizzoli, the calendar features two vibrantly-illustrated pages per month, with room to write your daily schedule.

“Inspired by nature, Japanese art, calligraphy, and her native Russian fairy tales, each of her delicate illustrations invites us to get lost among the billowing trees, blossoming flowers, or gentle raindrops.”

And that’s not all! Did you know that once you’re done using the calendar as, ahem, calendar, you can always frame your favorite pieces as wall art? Grab your copy (or two!) today!

Summer has us in a shopping mood, and we just couldn’t resist showing off a few more “shops to like” to you. In this edition, we’re skipping from Pennsylvania to Portland and then all the way to Australia.

First up, Sunshine Art + Design’s The Paperie. We are delighted to count this magnificent space in our list of stockists. Sunshine Art + Design combines a gallery which hosts art exhibitions and special events with a small, seamlessly-curated, chic paperie. Other paper products they carry include Whit & Whistle, Hammerpress, Emily McDowell Illustration, Kiss and Punch and many more.
Photo courtesy of The Paperie.

Go visit Sunshine Art + Design: The Paperie
Sunshine Art + Design: The Paperie
104 West King Street
Lancaster, PA 17603

Next up, an elegant gem of a shop: Alder & Co. in Portland, Oregon. Other than being a place where you would be happy to get lost forever, Alder & Co. has been featured in some of our favorite magazines and blogs, including Kinfolk (photo credit below) and Design*Sponge. Simplistic, beautiful and streamlined, Alder & Co. is filled to the brim with creative clothing, housewares, gifts and paper products.

Photos courtesy of Kinfolk Magazine and Alder & Co.

Go visit Alder & Co.
Alder & Co.
616 SW 12th Ave
Portland, OR 97205

Lastly, we’re heading over the Pacific to Annie P. Paperie., where Poppy, the Silky terrier store maitre d’ is there to welcome us. In a traditional old corner shop, Annie P. Paperie offers cards, paper, and colorful original designs for worldly paper lovers. Grab a greeting card or a fully-stocked wedding suite while you’re in-shop. We love  you, Annie P. Paperie!

Photos courtesy of Annie P. Paperie.

Go visit Annie P. Paperie:
Annie P. Paperie
243 Stirling Highway
Claremont
Western Australia 6010

On a separate note (pun intended!), we wanted to give a little shout-out to paper and party blog, 8 Balloons, for their lovely Masha mentions this summer! Check out the birthday bash post here, and a special NSS booth wrap-up here.

Thanks again to all of the shops above for being fabulous, and to 8 Balloons for the kindest words.

Masha has added some brand new shops to her list of “Shops to Like!” We adore these fabulous stockists and wanted to whisk you away to get an inside peek for yourself. Hop with us from Richmond, Virginia to Portland, Oregon and Brattleboro, Vermont:

First up, Mongrel: a unique little gem of a shop in Richmond, Virginia, that plays host to a curation of unique items including designs by our pal, Emily McDowell, artist Nikki McClure, and paper auteur, Rifle Paper Co., as well as a host of other creative card and gift companies. Make sure to visit their history page for an incredible 90’s throwback photo show of the history of their company. We love you!

Go visit Mongrel:
Mongrel
2924 W Cary Street
Richmond, Virginia 23221

Next up, Finnegan’s Toys & Gifts: a whimsical stop in Portland, Oregon that has been “making aunts and uncles cool since 1977.” Love! If you’re in Portlandia, make sure to hit up this shop for the kiddos in your life (or for yourself, we’ll understand!). Carrying only the best of the best, you can pick up Lottie Dolls, Calico Critters, books of all kinds, and of course, Masha’s cards. Also, please do not miss this Cat Lover’s Coloring Book.

Go visit Finnegan’s Toys & Gifts:
Finnegan’s Toys & Gifts
820 SW Washington St
Portland, Oregon  97205

Last but not least, the very elegant Altiplano, which operates a flagship store located in the warm and inviting Brattleboro, Vermont. Coupling with boots on the ground in Guatemala, Altiplano is “committed to creating innovative products that support indigenous communities and the environment,” by bringing fair trade and employment to the Guatemalan Highlands. We are honored to be a part of their mission and flattered to be included in their list of talented handmade artists and designers.

Go visit Altiplano:
Altiplano
42 Elliot Street
Brattleboro, Vermont 05301

Thanks to all of the shops for snapping photos of Masha’s wares in-shop! You’re the best.

If you’re anything like us, you’re somewhat obsessed with nature’s rainbow of blooms, large and small, bombastic and delicate, as one of summer season’s biggest thrills. We are pleased as posies to share our newest greeting card on this fine day right before the 4th of July festivities! Adore Flowers boasts spell-bindingly kaleidoscopic summer florals with a simply exuberant sentiment, fit for any happy occasion or fashionable kudos. This beauty is blank inside for your writing pleasure and imagination (with art like this, no exclamation points necessary). It’s available immediately to brighten your adored recipient’s day.

Take a look at our other fun floral offerings that spell summer in rich watercolor mischief hues. Style them with flowery fashion and real flowers, of course! Why not celebrate Independence Day with some floral fireworks? Boom!

Clockwise from top:

Smell the balmy tropics with our Mahalo Dancer thank you card $4

Turn up the heat with magnificent Snapdragons from theBouqs.com $50

Show off your floral fierceness with our Botanicus Tiger birthday card $4

Bring the summer indoors with a fun paper garland from Terrain $14

Face the flowers with our Animal Flower Face $4

Table the garden with a sweet terrarium from Terrain $48

Awesomeness in card form is our best-selling Awesome Flowers $4

Tower above it all yet join in the blooming in these printed leather booties from Jeffrey Campbell $169

Con-grad-ulations! Everyone seems to know someone who is taking the plunge into the unknown and graduating. High school, college, university or more, they’re throwing themselves head-first into the world and we’ve got the perfect list of gifts to grab on the way to their ceremony, party or get-together. Acknowledge your favorite grad this season with one of our picks below:

1. Say Congratulations with this illustrated vintage-style greeting card by Lesley Barnes for Red Cap Cards.

2. Your sassy grad has to have something to wear to the after party. Grab a Gingko Flirt Bodycon Dress from Masha’s apparel collection.

3. Eames EVERYTHING! The perfect pen for taking notes in their next adventure! Acme Studio Dots Eames Pen.

4. A favorite from Masha’s collection of #watercolormischief. Let’s Do This congrats card!

5. Welcome to the real world. Love this “Things i have to do but don’t wanna do.” journal from Ashkahn.

6. Give them what they really want—fancy junk food! Sprinkles Cupcakes takes the cake!

7. For those (of age) grads that appreciate a fine lager, these Japanese Brass bottle openers are the bees’ knees.

8. They’re going to need some liquid fuel for college or work, so make sure they get the best of the best. A favorite: the Chemex Handblown Coffee Maker from MoMA.

Father’s Day (just 3 days away!) has us reflecting on all things fatherhood, starting with Masha’s Dad who is a nuclear physicist, which is not rocket science… except it is! Vladimir comes from humble beginnings in a rural town but his mad math skills and unbound curiosity took him to a top university and then all the way to space! Masha is especially thankful to her Dad for the artificial crystals he grew at work and brought to her to play with, for explaining the principles of photography (she took the picture of him in the armchair at age six), for sneaking her into VIP areas of museums and for the delicious Armenian kabobs among his other magic. Here’s a small photo tribute (mixed with a couple of our cards) to this incredible man so devoted to his calling. Did you know that it’s been scientifically proven that firing off a beautiful card for father’s day, June 21, or any day, is a stellar way to honor a superman in your life?

1. Would you explore cosmos if you had the chance or was Space Mountain with Dad enough?

2. Masha’s international family recently found a few photographic gems from her early years with her Dad! It’s fun to share them with you here.

3. Celebrate the strong and cozy bond between parent and child with our new Monkey Hug card and melt your recipient’s heart.

4. Howl for the leading man in your life with our best-selling Pack Leader Wolf.

Summer is upon us–and that means warm days, celebrating dads and the solstice moon. In the Northern Hemisphere, the first day of summer is marked by the Summer Solstice, or when the earth’s northern hemisphere tilts closest to the sun. It is also the longest day of the year, and falls on June 21st, which also happens to be Father’s Day! So, mark your calendars, and grab some chilled beer and something to grill, cause it’s gonna be a long one.

Also, don’t forget to pick up a card for dad while there’s still time or take a stay-cation with one of Masha’s watercolor summer dreamscapes. Speaking of Summer Solstice, some nature-lovers and naturalists feel one with the Earth on solstice days, and wouldn’t it be sweet to receive a note from you as well? We picked a few of our favorite outdoor-inspired delights for the tree-hugger in your life. Check them out below:

Clockwise from top left: Summer Trees Umbrella Walk, Beach Day, Fruits, Beach Bums

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Crazy days at the National Stationery Show in New York City this week! We wanted to bring all of you, attendees and absentees alike, a pictorial of our booth, plus little peeks at some friends and lovely booths around the exposition.

Our booth was a floral explosion: flower bombing and watercolor mischief encouraged. Turns out you don’t need paint to make watercolor washes – flowers work too! Besides showing off our style, we had the opportunity to hob-knob with many brilliant greeting card and stationery designers, fans, retailers and paper enthusiasts. We are pleased as punch with the outcome and can’t wait to browse Instagram to see more of the #NSS2015 photos. In the meantime, here are some of our booth, plus snapshots we borrowed of other fun exhibitors at the show. Be sure to click on their Instagram accounts to see more. Thank you, New York!
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Mother’s Day is this Sunday (May 10th!) and we wanted to give a shout-out to some worthy designers and artists who are making the world brighter daily with their illustration and artistic prowess. First up, check out the below–design by Emily McDowell Studio who featured Masha’s mother’s story recently on Instagram:

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